Control apparatus



1932. H. H. c. GRONDAHL 9,

CONTROL APPARATUS Original Filed July 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l //2 ve; forHam /-/6 6/0/7dafi/ 1932- H. H. c. GRONDAHL 1,839,477

CONTROL APPARATUS Original Filed July 51, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 taileddescription and Patented Jan. 5, 1932 stares HANS I-EE'NRIK CHRISTIANGRONIDAHL,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY,INCORPORATED, OF 'I'TEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEVT CONTROLAPPARATUS Original application filed. July 31,

1926, Serial No. 126,167. Divided and this application filed May 4,1928.

Serial No. 275,139.

This invention relates to control apparatus, and more particularly to aninterlocking apparatus between a motor circuit switch and a clutchoperating lever, and is a division of my Patent 1,691,058 of November13, 1928.

The primary object of this invention is to from being shifted until ahinged cover plate of a switch housing is closed, the closing of whichserves also permlts the lowering of a latch which was projected into thepath of thehand wheel when the cover was opened, by a cam surface uponthe cover,.for the purpose/of closing thev motor circuit. 'With theclosure of the cover the stop pin can be retracted for the purpose ofshifting the lever during this operation the cover cannot be opened toclose the motor circuit due to the position of the hand wheel. y Theseand other objects of the invention will be more apparent from thefollowing dein connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1is a side view of a material treating apparatus embodying the featuresof this invention Fig. 2 is an end view of the driving end of theapparatus shown in Fig. 1 disclosing an arrangement of the clutchmechanisms;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the clutch control mechanisms as shown inFig. 2;

Fig. l is a side view shown partly in section of the control mechanismdisclosed in Fig. 3 Y

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional viewof Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional circuit switch and ato openthe motor circuit and view of a pair of conveyor units taken on the line66 of Fig. 5; l i

Fig. 7 is anenlarged detailed sectional View of the upper portion of thesprayer devices as shown in Fig. 6, and

' Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detailed. perspecthe View disclosing a stackof metallic sheets supported by a conveyor tray linked to a conveyorchain. I

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals have been used todesignate similar parts throughoutthe various figures, it will beobserved that the material treating apparatus includes a plurality ofconveyor units denoted generally by the numeral 10 comprlsmg uprightframes 11 which are mounted on the floor of a pit12 which is providedwith a screened covering or floor 14. The upper portions of the frames11 extend upwardly through the screened floor 14 and at their upper endssupport two pairs of oppositely disposed and spaced supports or channels15. The innermost channels 15 support a pair of parallel, angular guides16 (Fig. 6) which serve as a sliding support for a plurality, of spacedinserts 18 which traverse and are secured to links 19 of conveyor chains20. These conveyor chains 20 reach between sprocket-s 22 which aremounted on a shaft 23 at the driving end of the apparatus (Fig. 5) andsprockets 2a (Fig. 1) suitably mounted at the opposite end of theapparatus. Positionedmedially of theframes 11 directly beneath theguides 16 are a pair of channel members 26 (Fig. 6) which functionsimilarly to theguides 16 and serve to support the inserts 18 inthelower reach of the conveyorchain 20. It will be'clear that the guides16 and the channel members 26 serve to preventsagging of theconveyorchain 20 and likewiseservevto retain and guide the chain in itsproper predetermined position.

The drivingmechanism forthe conveyor chain 20. includes an electricmotor 27 (Fig. 5) which is suitably mounted within a pit 28 and forms a;part of an electrical circuit 29' shown in Fig. 3. This motor 27transmits power to a shaft 30 arranged in axial alignment with the motorshaft (Fig. 5) through the medium of suitable speed reduction face ofthe switch '57.

gears (not shown) and the shaft 30 is connected with a clutch shaft 31by means of a sprocket chain 32. The clutch shaft is mounted at its endsin bearing members 34 (Fig. 2) within the pit 28 and revolubly mountedupon the shaft 31 adjacent each of the bearing members 34 is a sprocket35. The sprockets 35 are operativel I connected with the shaft 23 bymeans of suitable chains 1 38. These sprockets 35 are formed integralwith a clutch member 36 which are adapted to be engaged by companionclutch members 37 keyed to and slidably mounted upon the shaft 31.Spaced upright bearing members 39 serve as additional bearing supportsfor the clutch shaft 31 and at their upper ends slidably support ashifter rod 40 which is connected at each end to the slidable clutch'members 37 by means of suitable forked members 42 depending therefrom.The shifter rod 40 is adapted to be reciprocated by means of avertically disposed control lever 43 which is pivoted at 45 within anupright controlsupport 46 and is connected at its low'er extremity withthe shifterrod 40 by means of a link 47. I

At the upper end of the control support 46 'is a clutch controlmechanism denoted generally by the numeral 49 (Figs. 2, 3, and

4). This clutch control mechanism 4900mprises a screw 50 threaded withina suitable bearing 51 provided at the upper extremity of the support 46.One end of the screw 50 terminates in a looking or stop pin 53 while theother end of the screw supports a hand wheel 54 secured thereto. wheel54 is in the position shown in Fig. 4 with itsinner face abutting theend of the bearing 51, the lock pin 53of-the screw 50 will project orlie within the path of the has trol lever 43. Thus when the lever is inits normal vertical'or neutral position the stop pin 53 will projectthrough an opening provided in the lever 43 and the lever cannot beshifted until the stop pinhas been retracted. Likewise when-the lever 43occupies its shift e'd position, it'cannot be moved until the'stop pinis retracted out of the path of one or the other of oppositely disposedlugs 55 formed on the lever, the stop pin'when in its ad vanced positionlying adjacent the cooperat. ing surface of the lug.

"immediately beneath the hand wheel 54 is a housing 56 which is suitablysecured to the control support 46"and serves to enclose a conventionaldouble push button electrical switch 57 which is connected withinthecircuit 29. A hinged cover plate 59 having a'cam surface 60 provided atthe upper end thereofis adapted to be swung into and out ofcoveringrelationship withrespect to the p p A pin 61 carried by thecover 59 is adapted to engage the lower button of the switch 57 when sid cover memher is moved to its covering position as shown lVhen thehand in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The engagement of the pin 61 with the lowerbutton of the switch 57 which is in series with the electrical circuit29 containing the motor 7 causes the opening of the circuit and in orderto reclose the circuit the cover 59 must be swung open so as to renderpossible the manual operation of the upper button of the switch 57.Pivoted at the point 63 immediately above one corner of the cover 59(Fig. is a latch 64, the upper surface of which is curved so as topermit the hand wheel 54 to be moved outwardly away from the bearingmember 51 when the latch is in its lowermost position. When the handwheel 54 is in the position shown in Fig. 4 the latch 64 is free to bemoved upwardly and thus when the cover 59 is swung outwardly by graspinga lanob 65 provided thereon, the cam surface 60 will on gage with theunderside of the latch 64 and cause said latch to be urged upwardly.However, when the hand wheel is moved to a position superimposing thelatch 64, it will be impossible to swing the cover 59 outwardly byreason of the engagement of its cam surface 60 with the latch 64. Inthis connection it is also to be observed that the cover 59 must becompletely closed and the latch 64 completely lowered in order to permitthe hand wheel 54 to retract the pin The use of thehand wheel 54 and thescrew 56 for retracting the stop pin 53 from operative relation with thelever 43 when the latter is in one or the other of itsoperativepositions, it will be apparent, serves to provide a timeinterval of sufficient duration after the opening of the motor circuitwhich will insure that the motor and parts driven thereby will haveceased operating by the time the stop pin has been retracted. The lever43 can then be moved to effect the disengagement of the clutch member 3.with its companion driven clutch member 36 without injury to the operator or damage to the driving or clutch mechanisms which might'occurby attempting to shi t the lever 43 before all noving parts have come toa standstill.

From the foregoing it will be clear that by means of this controlmechanism 49 the control lever 43 can never be operated while the motor27 is functionally operative or in other words the control lever 43 canonly be operated when the lock pin is in its retracted position. Thiscondition can only exist when the cover'59 occupiesthe position shown inFigs. 3 and 4 and while it occupies this positionthe electricalsource'of power will be cut ofi. 7 It will also be clear that the handwheel can never be rotated to withdraw the stop pin 53 when the cover 59is swung away from the switch 57, in which pos ion of the cover theupper button of the switch is accessible for closing the circuit. Thelatch 64 not only serves to prevent the actuation of the cover 59, butalso serves to prevent the outward movement of the hand wheel 54: i

. means be provided to prevent the actuation of the clutch mechanismwhile the motor-is functionally operative. i

In parallelism with the side of eachconveyor unit are quenching orspraying de-' vices 67 which comprise horizontal pipes 68 having aplurality of perforations 69 (Fig' 7) formed therein.- These pipes 68are slidably mounted at spaced intervals by means of vertical guidesupports 71and are provided with an intake coupling 72 which isconnected with asuitable source of water supply (not shown) by means ofa suitable valve 78 (Fig. 5). Thepipes GS 'ma-y be readily raised'andlowered by the manipulation of a crank 75, which when rotated, operatescapstans 76. These capstans 76 are connected with the lower ends of thesupports 71 by means of suitablecables 77 whichpass over pulleys 79mounted at the side of the conveyor units 10. To' facilitate the raisingof the pipes 68 counterweights 80 are provided which tend to rotate thepulleys 7 9 over which the cables 77 pass. From the disclosure it willbe apparent that the operation of the cranlr 79 will cause the raisingor lowering of two sets of spraying devices 67. Excess water or otherquenching medium passes from the pit 12 through a drain 80 (Fig. 5).

In the operation of the treating apparatus provided with the control andinterlocking apparatus, hereinbefore described, material such asmetallic sheets 81 as shown in Fig. 8 stacked upon a suitable conveyortray 83 when positioned within an annealing furnace 84, may be coupledwith one of the links of the conveyor chain by means of a suitabledetachable connecting member 86. The hand wheel 54: is rotated so as toretract the lock pin 53 from the opening in the lever L3 as shown inFigs 3 and l, and the control lever 43 is actuated in one direction orthe other so as to effect the engagement of one of the clutch members 37with its companion driven clutch member 36. At this point it is to beunderstood that each of the combined clutch members 36 and 87 serves toindependently operate two conveyor units 10. The hand wheel can then beoperated to carry the lock pin 53 into its projected position againwhere it will lie in the path of one or the other of the lugs formed onthe lever d3. The control lever 43 will thus be positively preventedfrom being returned to-its neutral position or to its other operativeposition. The cover path of the hand wheel 54.

motor and the handling means,

59 can now be opened and the upper starting button of the switch 57actuated to close the circuit 29 including the. motor 27. The sheets 81are advanced from the furnace along the upper surfaces of the supportingchannels 15 toward the driving end of the apparatus. The motor isstopped when the sheets have been carried to their proper advancedposition for the quenching operation, by closing the cover 59 which ashereinbefore describe-d serves to open the circuit to the motor andcauses the latch 64 to be lowered from the Thereafter the latter may beoperated to retract the stop pin 53 and the lever 4:3 is then free to beshifted.

What is claimed is:

In a material handling apparatus, material handling means, an electricalcircuit containing a motor for driving the handling means, a clutchmechanism connecting the motor and the handling means, a lever forcontrolling the clutch mechanism, a stop member movable into engagementwith the lever for maintaining it in a predetermined position, a switchfor opening and closing the motor circuit, and means operativelyassociated with the stop member and the switch for preventing theoperation of the switch to close the motor circuit while the stop is inan inoperative position. 2. Ina material handling apparatus,materialhandling means, an electrical circuit containing a motor fordriving the handling means, a clutch mechanism connecting the a leverfor controlling the clutch mechanism, a reciprocable stop member formaintaining the lever in an operative position, a switch for opening andclo'smg the motor circuit, means for retracting the stop member from thelever, and means operatively associated with the stop member retractingmeans and the switch for preventing the operation of the switch to closethe motor circuit while the stop is in an inoperative position.

3.- In material handlin apparatus, material handling means, anelectrical circuit containing amotor for driving the handling means, aclutchmechanism connecting the motor and the handlingmeans, a lever forcontrolling the clutch mechanism, a stop member operatively associatedwith the lever forpmaintaining it in a predetermined position, a switchhaving operating elements for opening and closing: the motor circuit, apivotal plate for covering and uncovering the operating face of theswitch andscrving to operatethe circuit opening element thereof whenmoved to its covering po-sitioinand means operatively associated withthe plate and the stop memher for preventingvan operation of the stopmember to free the lever while the plate is in an uncovering positionfor the purpose of closingthe motor circuit. r

4. In a material handlin a aratus material handlin means an electricalcirb i f cult containing a motor ror driving the handling means, aclutch mechanism connecting the motor and the handling means,

a lever for actuating the clutch mechanism,

7 a stop member for maintaining the lever in a predetermined position, ascrew for advancing and retracting the stopmember to and from ooerativerelation with the lever 21 hand wheel for operating the screw, a switchfor opening and closing the motor circuit, a plurality ofcooperatingpivotal members operatively associated with the hand wheel Jand the switchfor positively preventing the operation of the hand wheelto retract the stop member 1" rom the lever while the motor circuit isclosed and when the stop member is in a retracted position positivelypreventing the closing of the motor circuit.

5. In a material handling apparatus, material handling means, anelectrical circuit containing a motor for driving the handling means, aclutch mechanism connecting the motor and the handling means, a switch.for opening and closing the motor circuit, indi vidual controlling meansfor the switch and the clutch mechanism, and interlocking meansincluding :1 simultaneously rotatable and reciprocable elementoperatively associated with the individual controlling means forlimiting the actuation of the latter means to a predetermined sequence.

6. In a material handling apparatus,"ma-

terial handling means, an electrical circuit containing a motor fordriving the handling means, a clutch mechanism connecting the motor andthe handling means, a switch for opening and closing the'mo-tor circuit,incli- Vidual controlling means for the switch and the clutch mechanism,and interlocking pivotal and reciprocable means operatively associatedwith the individual controlling means for rendering the controllingmeans forthe clutch mechanism inoperativewhile the controlling means forthe switch is in a position to permit the operation of the switch toclose the motor circuit.

7. In a material treating apparatus, material conveying means, drivingmeans for the conveying means including asource of power, means forconnecting the source of power with the driving means, means foroperatively and inoperativ-ely connecting the driving means withtheconveying means, means for controlling the connecting means,

and means for rendering the controlling means'inoperative whilerthemeans for connecting the source of power with the driving means 18accesslble for operation.

8; In a material handling apparatus, ma-

terial handling means, an electrical circuit containing a motor fordriving the handling means, means for operat vely and noperativelyconnecting the driving means with the handling means, a switch foropening and closing the motor circuit, individual cont-rolling means forthe switch and the connecting means, the switch controlling means provided with a cam surface, and movable means arranged between therespective controlling means and actuated by the said cam surface forrendering the controlling means for the connecting means inoperativewhile the controlling means for the switch is in a position to permitthe operation of the switch to close the motor circuit.

9. In a material handling apparatus, material handling means, anelectrical circuit containing a motor for driving the handling means, aclutch mechanism connecting the motor and the handling means, a switchfor opening and closing the motor circuit, individual controlling meansfor the switch and the clutch mechanism, the switch controlling meansprovided with a cam surface, and pivotal means arranged between therespective controlling means and movable into the path of thecontrolling means for the clutch mechanism by said cam surface when theswitch circuit. r I

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 20th dayof April,A. D. 1928.

' HANS HENRIX CHRISTIAN GRONDAHL.

ISO

